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May 03, 2012

by English Muse

Hello again, friends. It’s Katie, here again with another common book lover’s problem:

While I believe there is such thing as too many books, except perhaps when one is moving, I do believe that there are far too many books I have not read. One of my professors often went on a tangent about just how impossible it would be to read every published book, or even just every published novel, even if you lived a hundred years and never stopped reading. The sheer number of volumes is monstrous. So ultimately, we must pick and choose what books will visit our lives.

I have a habit of picking more books than can possibly visit my life. These stacks are a pretty good sampling of what I own and haven’t but think I should read. Yet I somehow manage to accumulate even more volumes every time I’m within sight of a used book store.

Yes! I’m constantly adding books to my shelves and to my to-read lists, which both grow exponentially faster than the number of books I actually read. When I read good books, I find myself and I get inspired or comforted, so every time I hear about a good book, I’m so eager to add it to my list, especially during times when I feel lost (very often). The number of books out there and the possibilities of how they might affect me is very daunting and exciting, and I can’t help but feel sad about the ones I’ll miss out on either because I don’t know about them or because I won’t have time to get around to them. I’ve been loving your posts lately; I can so easily relate to them!

One more reason for me to love my Kindle. When I hear about a book I think I’d like to read I download the free sample, which usually includes the first chapter or two. When I’m ready to start a new book, I “shop” from my samples. I only pay for those I actually read at the time I choose to read them and the only space they take up is of the cyber variety. The book store is always open!

Definitely. My husband keeps on buying me books. He’s a fanatic. If I read everything he bought me that’s on the waiting list it would take three years. Seriously. I’m about 150 books
behind. There are other books that I have every intention of reading, A.S. Byatt’s The Children’s Book is a good example. But I can’t keep everyone’s name straight when I only dip into it at bed-time. I haven’t started Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol. And I gave up on The Historian because I thought it was shite.

YES. I always say- “Okay, no more buying books until you finish reading those that you haven’t already!”
I can’t help it- it’s like the books at shops call out to me. I tend to get a little overwhelmed at libraries and stores… I wish we could read all books!